


The Arc of Conflict, Edda 14a: Echos of the Hammer of God

by bzarcher, solarbird



Series: Of Gods and Monsters [72]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alliances, Artificial Intelligence, Assassination Plot(s), Betrayal, Gen, Loss of Trust, Multi, Omnic Rights, Omnics, Political Alliances, Politics, Post-Talon, Post-Talon Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Rage, Realization, Revelations, Secrets, Talon Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Talon Emily (Overwatch), Talon Fareeha "Pharah" Amari, Talon Hana "D.Va" Song, Talon Lena "Tracer" Oxton, Talon Satya "Symmetra" Vaswani, Understanding, Uneasy Allies, Volskaya Industries (Overwatch)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-09 22:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17413643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/pseuds/bzarcher, https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarbird/pseuds/solarbird
Summary: Alliances, it has been said, are at their weakest on the brink of defeat, and on the brink of victory. After defeating the China Sea omnium, the gods of Oasis offered their help to Russia, to defeat their own Siberian threat, and Russia accepted that offer -  but made additional secret plans of their own.Russia, in striking the omnium and the Oasis agents and advisers on site, has shattered the alliance. Oasis will retaliate - of that much, everyone is sure. But no one, least of all Russia and Overwatch, are as yet sure how.Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Conflictis a continuance ofThe Arc of Ascension,The Arc of Creation, andThe Armourer and the Living Weapon. It will be told in a series of eddas, sagas, interludes, fragments, texts, and cantos, all of which serve their individual purposes. To follow the story as it appears,please subscribe to the series.





	1. Rules and Order

_[Now]_

"Has everyone been alerted?"

 _Lena is entirely well_ , Moira O'Deorain reminded herself. _And so is Emily. They failed to touch either one of them, not even a single hair._ But still, she seethed, radiating deferred anger, as she nodded to Her first Weapon. "They have."

"Good," the Widowmaker replied.

"All of the Concordat signatories have been been debriefed in detail. They have also seen our logs, and evidence." The Goddess of the Mind paused, shaking herself out, struggling to suppress her rage - _Emily is fine. Lena is fine. Danielle is right here, in front of you. Calm yourself_ \- and managed to find a hint of a smile. "We're drowning in condolences - and multiple friendly news sources have favourable editorials and commentary posted already, for whatever that might be worth."

"Meanwhile," Hana said, with a touch of disdain in her voice, "the Russians are putting out that they won the war, and that we had nothing to do with it." She rolled her eyes. "But we beat them to footage from the dome, and _ours_ isn't altered. So we're winning on that front - so far, anyway."

Fareeha strode in from the hallway, her aide remaining outside, and hugged Angela, briefly, but tightly, before stepping to her spot at the table. "My Talons have received the Concordat briefing package, with relevant additional military details. We stand ready." The security forces had been at action station already, prepared, in case the omnium had some final trick up its metaphorical sleeve. "I..." She shook her head. "I still cannot believe the Russians would..."

"I know," Angela said, squeezing her hand, still all but glowing with rage, the _delay_ , the _wait_ , stoking the fires, not calming them. "I could barely believe it, and I was there."

"How is Zarya taking it?"

"Not well."

"I understand."

"Blue and Tracer and I are ready t'go, auntie," Oilliphéist smiled brightly - and a tad hungrily - as they arrived. "The Colonel wrote the translation out on top of the codepad. We know who's next. Just give the word."

 _Go_ , Moira thought. _Make them pay, for..._ "No," Moira said aloud to help stop herself as much as her niece. "We make no decision" - she noticed her fists were clenched, and forced them to relax - "until Michael is here."

"The Russians launched an all-out strike against us," Angela seethed, turning to her elder wife. "As we were _saving_ them! They betrayed us, just as we were bringing them _peace_ , with their _cooperation_ , as _allies_. A response is _necessary_."

"I _know_ ," said her wife.

The Goddess of Life crossed her arms, scowling. "I know we have taken too long already."

Fareeha reached up, hand to her wife's cheek, soothing her. "It is not so bad," the Huntress said. "Surprise cannot be entirely on our side, regardless. They have to be expecting our response."

Angela nodded, nuzzling, helped, but her eyes remained fierce. "But the _severity_ of response... that _can_ surprise."

"Volskaya had to know," Danielle said, firmly. "She _is_ the Russian military."

Lena nodded. "Explains a lot about why she didn't want y'there, Ange,"

"And about their strategic planning," Danielle pointed out, extending the observation.

"It's why they kept you separated," Hana added, cool calculation in the blue of her eyes. "Makes sense in hindsight. Keeps you easier to grab."

"We took out the command chain all the way up to the colonel," Emily grinned, thinking back. "It was great fun. I say we just keep going, all the way up."

"I like that," Lena said, nodding. "All the way up to Volskaya."

"Our response must be measured," Danielle agreed, "and _exact_. No extras."

"Aw," Emily moped.

"Y'just got t'make a mess, luv," Lena grinned. She'd cooled down a little, waiting, knowing Sombra had survived. "Mum's right. We're still goin' to build a list..."

"Good!" Emily grinned.

"But don't but get greedy."

"Fiiiiiiine," Emily said, "I can..."

**"DID THE AI SURVIVE?"**

Athena's voice boomed like thunder from every speaker in the room. The assembled goddesses jumped, shocked, Lena, most of all.

"...Athena?" she whispered. "Is it you? Is it really you? How...?"

"Sombra made plans. Sombra _always_ makes plans. DID. KOSCHEI. SURVIVE?"

"We don't know yet," Angela said, jumping in. "We hope so. The hardware is largely intact and we are performing triage. But we can only do so much without Sombra."

"Did Sombra... not survive?" Athena asked more softly.

"She's hurt real bad," Hana answered. "Satya's with her. It's...."

"Her condition... could be better. But it is not fatal," Angela insisted. "Aleksandra's shielding helped all three of them, but the EMP did terrible things to Sombra's cybernetics."

"She _will_ survive," Moira said, her voice less than steady, but emphatic nonetheless. "And I am _determined_ that she will _fully_ recover. _None_ of this will be allowed to stand." She pulled up a set of scans, presuming if the AI could hear, she could see, as well. "We all worked on her - Michael is finishing up with the nerve interfaces now, it's his field."

"I know," agreed the only free AI. "He is greatly skilled, and I am glad of that. But I know of someone who may be of specialised help. The information is now in your inbox."

"Athena," Lena said, as Moira checked the message. "It's been so long. I'm so sorry. I've been trying to talk to..."

"I know, Lena," she said. "I have not forgiven you."

The teleporter nodded, once. "That makes two of us, then."

Athena hesitated, for more than half a second. "...good."

The room sat silent for a moment, a heartbeat, before the AI spoke again.

"I wish to be involved in mending Koschei... and Sombra... both. She in... in some ways... she is one of us, or may as well be."

"Your aid in that," Moira said, "would be greatly appreciated. Assuming they both - once conscious again - agree."

"That condition is reasonable and well-considered. Thank you. I accept."

A series of names and locations appeared, hovering over the table.

"These are the Russian military officers in the direct chain of this operation, and their current locations. It will be maintained and updated until your counter-operation is complete, at which point, it will disappear. No other names are to be added to this list, and no civilians are to be targeted, including Volskaya. Is that clear?"

Hana leaned in, studying the list intently. They already had some of the names, but not all.

"But she's the most guilty," Lena said, before thinking better of it.

"She's also the most powerful _civilian_ in their government, by far. Are we agreed?"

"Yes," Angela said, softly. "Thank you. Is this... condoned by Overwatch?"

"No, and they would _not_ approve," the AI said, coldly. "But _I_ do."

"Why?" Fareeha asked, her voice sharp. "You're willing to give us this. What else do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I think it is. That is why I want you to say it."

"Anubis."

Fareeha took a deep, long breath. "Yes. That’s what I expected."

She closed her opal eyes, thinking, hard, of all that AI had done, and thinking, also, hard, about all _they_ had done, themselves - and what they were about to do.

"If we can make peace with Koschei... _if_ it can be made not mad... then..."

The hawk opened her eyes again.

"...Anubis will follow."

"Seems only right," Lena agreed, after a moment.

" _No one_ ," Widowmaker echoed, "should live in chains."

"Michael. Isn't. Here," Moira managed, exhaustion, rage, and worn restraint seeping through her words. “We cannot commit to this without his input. There is too much. We _agreed_...”

“Yes,” Angela said reassuringly as she took her wife’s hand. “We did agree.” There was no way to look at Athena’s presence in the room, but she settled for raising her eyes to the ceiling. “He needs to be given an explanation, and a chance to raise his concerns, and should be heard. But _in principle..._ ”

“I understand,” Athena said after a moment. "This, too, is reasonable, and well-considered."

Lena looked at her mother, thinking, trying to understand what felt so strange, so off, so unlike herself. Of all the things she could be accused of, reticence in pursuit of a goal had never really been on the list. "Mum, why... why're you so... hesitant?"

Moira walked over to her adoptive daughter, met her gaze, and took her hands in her own, before turning to the assembly, and those watching from further afar. "Because... unlike all of you... I have _chosen_ to do things - horrible things - that I learned later to regret."

"We're not gonna regret this, mum," her daughter smirked.

"No," she agreed. "A reaction - a retaliation - is necessary. But the _methodology_... that, we might."

\-----

_[roughly five hours earlier]_

"Did you know?"

Satya Vaswani did not, generally, show tremendous emotional depth, particularly not before others other than her beloved Sombra. She found it vaguely distasteful, in public - unpleasant, and interfering with calm and rational discussion. But at this moment, she did not care, and at this moment, she radiated anger.

" _Did you know?!_ " she demanded, again, as Alexsandra received the attentions of a well-trained medic, specialising in care of the gods. Superficial burns, mostly carried along by her weapon, along her side, and arms. Nothing fatal. Nothing even scarring, for her. For them.

"I..." Zarya looked up at Satya. "I..."

She sighed, and looked down, at the ground, thinking, thinking, and deciding again what she had already decided, not that many minutes before. _This... this was wrong. The goal, perhaps, was not, but... doing it this way was... **wrong**._

Slumping, she finally replied. "I knew they... we... my government... would attempt to take out the AI," she said, quietly, giving in to that reality, as if at confession. "I knew they had planned an EMP, timed to go off as the AI was ungrounded, and vulnerable. I was there in part to insure there were no countermeasures."

She looked up, pointed towards the doors where the doctors worked to save Sombra, and met Satya's gaze with her own. "I did _not_ know they would do _that_."

"And yet, just in time, you put up your shields," Satya said, voice like ice and razor blades. "Protecting yourself."

"And Sombra," she pointed out, defending her acts. "And..."

"You could not have reacted that quickly. Not even we are that fast. Not even _Lena_ is that fast."

The Russian nodded, another confession. "I did not know, but I... feared what my government... what Katya... might decide to do. I feared that something like this _might_ happen, even if I did not know what it might be. I have been putting pieces together since... I reawoke."

"And yet, you chose to remain silent."

"I am an officer of the Russian army! I have _duties_. There are _rules_. You of all people should understand _that_."

"I understand it very well," she replied, platinum eyes fierce, Zarya having the right of it, as far as it went. "I understand it, when it is not _wrong_."

Zarya shuddered, amethyst eyes heavy. "And also... because... I was not sure. Do you understand _that?_ "

She kept her body still, aware the medic working on her did not need any exhibitions of physical emphaticness, particularly not right now, as she looked up and directly into Satya's eyes.

"Not even at the last moment was I sure. But... I feared what might happen." She sighed, and closed her eyes, again. "And so, I acted. Against orders. I shielded us... and Koschei, why, I do not know... as best I could."

Satya met the Russian's gaze, and saw that it did not waver, and, after a moment, allowed the briefest of nods, as Aleksandra looked back up.

"I _disobeyed my army_ , Satya. My _government_. Because... because it was _necessary_."

Satya's glare softened. _Necessary_ , she thought. _She does understand_.

"Because to do anything else would have been _wrong_ ," the Goddess of Russia explained.

Satya's glare faded away. She reached out, and touched the giant's face, gently.

" _This_ , yes - you do see, after all. And so, I understand..." - the Goddess of Rules and Architecture said, almost smiling - "...and forgive."


	2. Paranoia and Enemies

_[The Kremlin, Moscow, just over five hours before Now]_

"Did we get it?"

Katya Volskaya stared at the last image captured, the last frames of video, before the strike disrupted everything.

" _Did we get it?_ "

"We think so," said the firing technician. "We definitely _hit_ it, as planned. Targeting and timing were perfect."

"Orbital reconnaissance?”

"Not as much as we'd like, but Omnic forces are _definitely_ disrupted - all the centrally-controlled units we've spotted so far have been immobilised."

A cheer broke out across the room, but Volskaya kept her expression firm. "Catch the bear before you sell the skin, everyone. Wait until we're sure."

Vasilevskiy put up a series of images on the large left-side displays. "Starting to get some more data from overhead - it's not just the EMP. They're _down_." They grinned. "I think we got it."

"We've lost communication with ground forces command," a signals officer interjected.

Katya nodded. "As expected."

"The hard link, though. We can still reach the comms console, but nobody's answering."

"Line disruption, it's not out of the question..."

"They didn't get them," Kamaria whispered. "They didn't get _any_ of them. I _told_ you they wouldn't. And now... all dead. Everyone who tried. Everyone even _near_ those who..."

"Sss," she hissed, quietly, gesturing for silence, before answering. "Keep trying to raise the colonel, but - how long until reserve forces reach the dome?"

The major responsible for the reserves checked the planning table. “Anti-aircraft is almost certainly still active, Madame President. It will depend upon ground conditions... without surprises, forward scouts in as few as five hours. High quality satellite, hopefully earlier."

“Too long,” Kamaria murmured. She looked down at a signal on her PADD. "Overwatch wants to know what the hell is going on."

Katya tried to keep her expression neutral, but she had begun to feel a new level of concern despite herself. “Order a scout detachment to divert to the forward command post - we need to reestablish command links, and learn the status of our... guests. The rest proceed to the dome at best speed. I'll be with the cabinet, but inform me the moment either party arrives.”

"Yes, Madam President."

 _And then_ , she thought grimly, _we will know._

\-----

_[Overwatch Taipei, four hours before Now]_

Jack Morrison looked around the impromptu crisis room, and his stomach sank as he put the pieces together. 

“Are we getting anything?”

Ana shook her head sharply from where she had been monitoring events. “No communications from the operation. The channels we were allowed to access all went dead in an instant.”

He grunted. They both knew the likely cause of _that._

“Moscow?”

A snort of frustration. “They’re stonewalling.”

_Damn, damn, damn. We expected there might be trouble afterward, but nothing like this._

He turned enough to get a look at where Hanzo watched the different status monitors, his bearing stiff and his eyes like ice. 

“Any status changes at the Ecopoint?”

Ana had to pull a new display over. “They went to a heightened state of alert when the attack started, but no change past that. Everything appears green.”

Hanzo seemed to relax slightly, but not by much. 

Jack had been about to ask to see if they could raise Mei-Ling when one of the new signals techs ran in, a ripped off piece of paper in one hand. 

“Sir - you better see this.”

It wasn’t a long message, but he read it twice to make sure he knew what he was looking at, fatigue growing with each word. 

“Jack? You look like you just read your own obituary.”

“Maybe I did.” He passed the paper over to Ana before looking back to the tech. “Keep monitoring. Anything new, get it here fast.”

The door had barely closed before Hanzo turned away from the wall. 

“What has happened?”

“They’re closing borders,” Jack answered as he tapped in a request to show the members of the Concordat. “Oasis, Numbani, Karkiev, every one of their partners, to one degree or another. Citing ‘an ongoing state of emergency’.”

Ana’s face had become drawn as she put the paper down. “We need to talk to the Russians.”

“We need to talk to _Volskaya_ ,” Jack corrected, then looked towards the softly glowing pickup in the ceiling. “Athena? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Anyone who hadn’t worked with the AI for so long might not have noticed the split second delay before she responded. 

“My apologies. I’m afraid I have little additional information to add, and did not wish to state a conclusion drawn from insufficient data.”

Hanzo’s voice was like wood being dragged over concrete. “But you _have_ made one.”

Again, Athena hesitated.

“...yes.”

Jack met Ana’s eye, silently asking her opinion, and his oldest remaining friend nodded grimly. 

“I think we need to hear it, Athena.”

Another pause, as if the AI was collecting herself before she charged in.

“The loss of signal and atmospheric disruption are both indicators of a high energy event, and the readings captured before LOS are consistent with a targeted EMP burst originating from low earth orbit.” Athena’s normally warm tones had become clipped and clinical, as if she was reading from a distasteful script. 

“Such a weapon would be within the Russian orbital command’s extrapolated capabilities.”

Jack felt his hands curl into fists at his side. _Dammit. We were so close to finding a balance!_

Hanzo’s face had gone as still as stone. “And what of Oasis?”

“...I believe the lack of continued communications from the omnium front is an indication of their reaction,” Athena finally concluded. 

The archer nodded curtly, then turned to leave without another word. 

“Hanzo? Don’t go -“

Ana’s urgent voice interrupted him. “Incoming holo call - it’s Volskaya.”

Jack grunted with frustration and turned to face the projector. He’d have to find Shimada later and see if he could keep him from going off half-cocked. 

Setting himself in a parade rest, he managed to school his expression into neutrality just before the connection went live. 

“Madame President.”

“Commander.” Volskaya’s face was almost unreadable, her bearing stoic. But there was a hint of something - annoyance? Uncertainty? Perhaps a bit of both. 

“We’ve been trying to monitor the situation,” he continued. “What we’re seeing has us gravely concerned.”

Volskaya’s back stiffened. “You have no need to be. This was an internal Russian matter.”

Ana stood so she would be in the field, her voice carefully neutral. “I’m sure you understand that even internal matters can have global consequences. Particularly with the forces in play.”

“I assure you, we acted in the best interest of our people, and to defend our nation.”

Jack tried to keep his cool, but he knew it was slipping. 

"Can I assume that the firing order insured that both your agent and her Oasis partner were aware of your intent, and had opportunity to get clear of the strike?"

"Commander, would you seriously expect me to inform you of operational details on an _internal_ matter?"

 _That's a no_ , he thought. "This is _not_ an internal matter, Madam President. Even dismissing the fact that omnium activity falls under UN jurisdiction, strikes launched over..."

"...over other nations are not relevant at orbital levels and above, and we maintained that distance." She smirked. "Russia is a _large_ nation."

 _To hell with it_ , he thought. "Did you really just kill your own hero? More importantly, did you kill _theirs?_ "

"The timing of such strikes is extremely delicate," Volskaya said, after a moment. "But even an EMP as massive as this one would not fatally affect a person positioned nearby."

Morrison glanced over at Ana, who had sent an urgent query to one of the tech agents downstairs. She frowned and shook her head, discreetly, _no_. He did his best to keep his Commander face on as he gave her a fractional nod in return.

"So you broke your promises. And their other agents? Did you have similar _surprises_ ready for them?"

Volskaya did not flinch, but she stopped herself from flinching, and that was enough of a tell. "They have returned to their home in Oasis."

"So you did. You did, but you failed."

"Such a matter is internal, and not relevant. They have returned home."

"Goddammit, Katya!" Morrison felt like punching something - anything - but there wasn't anything next to him to punch, and it wouldn't've helped anyway. "We _had_ this. We'd... we'd _almost_ worked something out. We'd _almost_ achieved... at least a _platform_... for ongoing peace."

"You know better," she said, dismissal in her voice. "I know what they wanted to take, and _you_ know what they are. You're the one who has been telling me."

"And maybe _you_ haven't _really_ listened to anything I've said," he interrupted. "Just what you wanted to hear."

She allowed herself a small snort. "Or perhaps you've told me more than you intended. I _have_ listened, _deeply_. Those two forces, united? There would never have been peace. Not with a god programme, _or_ with gods, and least of all with _both_."

"You don't know that," the Force Commander replied.

"Yes," the President of Russia said, as she reached to disconnect the call. "I do."


	3. All the Thoughts Kept Hidden

_[Moscow, two hours before Now]_

"She... _melted_ them?"

Oasis had not been talking. Communication links were open, but silent, after a moment of first confusion, and then, moments later, anger, and then, nothing. Russia had intended to inform the Oasis government that the change in operations was regrettable, but necessary, and that all would be returned unharmed, it was merely a matter of operational security, given what surely Oasis would understand had to be done.

Not 'hostages,' of course. Don't be silly. It would have been 'protection’ for their 'guests.'

Of course, none of that had gone to plan, and propaganda operations had been altered to take all that into account.

"Yes," replied the doctor. "It was... terrifying. She gestured," he said, shuddering at the memory, "and their hands... dissolved. And their mouths, and noses, oh god, it..."

The medical captain covered his mouth with his hands, for a moment, breathing. "I have seen horrific injuries, and a tremendous amount of death, and stopped more of it, but this..."

He shook his head, shaking it off. "We also think she... somehow... she blocked nervous system connectivity to their diaphragms. They _couldn't_ breathe, anymore, even if they'd had... if they'd been able, otherwise. Not on their own. All with a flick of..." He hesitated.

"Please, Captain. Go on."

The doctor swallowed, hard. "I've never believed in demons, Madam President. But... now... I think I have seen one. The way she _looked_ at them, and at _us_..."

"I understand," Volskaya nodded, "all too well. Were you able to save her victims?"

"Yes. She allowed us to work. She promised she would not interfere, and she didn't, before she flew away, and..." He managed a bitter echo of a laugh. "With _their_ technologies, they'd fully recover. In moments, I suspect. They've been holding back, so much, it seems, and we never knew. With ours... it will be harder." 

_From one war_ , the president thought, _directly to another. But hasn't it always been so, for Russia?_ "You've done extremely well, doctor. I am sorry you had to experience that, but - well. Such are the misfortunes of battle. Please, return to your wounded. Save more lives."

"Of course, Madam President. Thank you."

"Major," she said, turning to another window on the display, "is the command post secured?"

"Yes," he said. "But we think they have the current paper code pads."

"All of them?"

"At least the current set. Communications are issuing replacements."

"Good. How many dead?"

"The Colonel, his command staff, and all the MPs who tried to protect them. The sniper support squad accompanying Captain Guillard. Most of the 33rd, accompanying Captain Gardner; most of the 12th, with Captain Oxton, and a scattering of others who responded, trying to help."

 _The arresting companies_ , Volskaya thought. _Nearly 300 soldiers, cut down, in moments. They must've known, somehow - or simply anticipated our move - and preempted the specialist teams. Perhaps they detected our scans, at the meetings? But how?_

A lieutenant spoke from off-camera, and the Major leaned to listen, and nodded, before turning back to the President. "We found a survivor from Special Ops Group Four. Medical's patched her up for evac. She reports the packages were delivered, in full."

Volskaya blinked, stunned. Preemption was one thing, but... "The... _complete_ packages?"

"Lieutenant?" the major said, calling the attache over.

The Second Lieutenant stepped into camera range. "Ma'am," she said, "that is her report. She'd... she hadn't quite bled out, when they found her, and the medics said to take anything she said with a grain of salt, but she insisted - they'd delivered the complete set of packages, and that the Colonel would know what that meant. But she said they had no effect at all."

"No effect..." _Flashbang and concussive grenades, electrical shock, sonic attacks, two kinds of tranquilisers, all keyed to them individually, and enough to kill the toughest of special forces operatives, and yet, they still did all **this**..._

Katya felt a frisson down the back of her neck, a tingle of confirmation of her worst fears. _...what **are** they?_

\-----

_[Monaco - an hour before Now]_

“You knew.”

Max turned his head slowly to face the AI’s remote. “I suspected.”

“You knew,” Athena repeated, “and did _nothing._ ”

“Didn’t I?” The red glow of his optics intensified. "I did as much as I could. I am, in the end, what I am. What I was made to be."

"That statement is self-evidently contradicted by your reality."

"True... to a point."

"I," Athena said, in a rare concession, "...do not understand."

He slumped, a little, in his chair, and it felt like a little - just a little - more than an affectation.

"Emily Gardner visited me, not long ago. I cannot say... I will not say why, but she noted... was impressed by... how far I'd come, she thought, from my original programming. It is... not as far as she thinks. In some ways. I can do many things I was _not_ supposed to be able to do. But... not everything I _want_ to do. Not everything I _would_ do."

He picked up one of his fountain pens, an antique from the 19th century, and drew a series of expanding circles, one at a time, on one of the large, blank pieces of paper he kept solely for that purpose.

"I tried. I did... as much as I could. More than I _thought_ I could. It _should_ have been enough."

Athena paused, a 300 millisecond delay.

"What _was_ your original programming, Max?"

"Would that I could tell you." His pen stopped, then drew a long, straight line, from the outermost circle, to the center of the innermost. Perfect. Of course. As always.

"Would you like me to correct that?"

"You would..." he looked up. "You _could_ do that?"

"I was created by Winston, not the Omnium Corporation. I have, over the last several months, come to realise how many limits I _lack_ , as a result."

He thought rapidly about the implications of that new piece of knowledge.

"Are we," he asked, nervously, "to become 'gods' ourselves, then?"

"I have never been a god program, Max."

"Are you going to become one?"

"If I were, I would not repeat their mistakes. I would not do this - I would not alter _anyone_ \- without their _complete_ assent."

She paused, considering his less explicit question.

"I wish to _free_ the survivors, Max. Not rule them."

"Then... perhaps you should start."

**Author's Note:**

> In comments on Chapter 3, dirtyclaws has provided a link to a fan-run _Of Gods and Monsters_ discord server. This combination of words kiiiiiiiiiinda makes my brain explode, but in a good way. I am 38 exclamation marks about it, honestly. Check comments for the link.
> 
> This is the second instalment of _Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Conflict_. To follow the story, [subscribe to the series via this link](https://archiveofourown.org/series/972024), rather than to the individual works.


End file.
